This invention relates to a method and a system to allow for the preparation of a pressurized paint formulation of a desired color and gloss at the point of retail sale to the ultimate end user. In particular, my invention involves providing a container pressurized with a solvent and a neutral or clear initial paint formulation, whereby the end user selects or matches a desired color and gloss and where a filling machine is used to add the tints or pigment dispersions through a septum made of a resilient material to achieve the matched or selected final color of the paint. Alternatively, my invention includes providing a pre-pressurized container fitted with a septum and containing at least a propellant, whereby a fully formulated paint mixture can be pumped into the container through the septum to result in a pressurized container of paint.
One of the most significant developments in the field of paints and other protective coatings is the introduction and development of aerosolized coatings, most commonly referred to as “spray paint.” Retail stores have shelf upon shelf of these pre-filled pressurized containers of complete paint and coatings formulations, in every imaginable color and gloss that are “ready to use”. These complete, pre-packaged spray paint containers provide the customer with a convenient means to purchase small quantities of paint in a readily useable spray container for easy application. Unfortunately, in situations where the end user has a particular color in mind or wants to match a particular existing color, the current art of spray paint forces the end user to select a paint color that in most cases is not the exact color that the user desires. This is because there is no convenient means to allow a consumer to select a color and have that exact color made at the point of purchase. Instead, the user must search a myriad of brands of spray paint in the hope of finding a color that at least comes close to the desired color. Often times, this causes the end user to travel from store to store in search of such a match. Another drawback of the conventional spray paint product is that the inability to prepare a final paint color at the point of sale directly affects the retailer. Because conventional spray paint is only available from the manufacturer in pre-selected and predetermined colors and gloss, the retailer is forced to stock and carry inventory for a large number of cans to accommodate a large number of colors and gloss finishes. This further requires the use of an inordinate amount of shelf space in the store, thus limiting the amount of other products that can be displayed.
A convenient solution to the above mentioned problems would be to allow the retail outlet at the point of sale to formulate the final color of the spray paint based on the end user's selections of color and gloss at the moment of sale. In this way only a very limited number of spray containers containing either a clear or neutral base paint formulation need to be stocked and shelved by the retailer. The end user can then select a final paint formulation that exactly matches his or her needs. Our invention, as described below, provides this solution and solves the above-mentioned problems by combining a means to match or select color and gloss with a means to formulate and add the necessary tints and pigment dispersions to a pre-pressurized container to achieve the desired final paint formulation at the point of sale. Our invention further benefits the retailer by greatly reducing inventory and freeing up valuable shelf space for other store products.
Although my earlier issued U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,705,359 and 6,135,165 describe a pressurized container containing certain paint additives that is eventually filled with a final water-borne paint composition of a selected color at the point of sale, those patents do not disclose the methods and systems described herein. In particular, my earlier invention was limited to providing a pressurized can containing all the ingredients except the final pigmented paint formulation, and moreover, that final pigmented paint formulation was limited to water borne formulations. In addition to my earlier invention, the prior art has recognized that there may be some benefit to providing pressurized, sealed containers containing only a propellant that can then be filled with a “custom” paint formulation. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,740,841; 5,647,408; Des. 361,581; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,938,260; and 5,535,790, each describe various filing machine designs that can inject a complete “custom” paint formulation into a pressurized can. In contrast, our current invention provides a pressurized container containing a base or neutral initial paint formulation and requires only small amounts of tints and/or pigment dispersions, not complete paint formulations, to be added at the point of sale based on a color and gloss match or a selection by the end user. These references, as well as my earlier patents and the art cited therein are incorporated by reference in this application.